Effect of mechanical-strain-induced defect generation on the performance of flexible amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O thin-film transistors

In this study, we investigate the effect of mechanical strain on the performance of flexible amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O (a-InGaZnO) thin-film transistors. Drain current–gate voltage (I D–V G) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) transfer curves are measured to analyze the degradation behavior. The I D–V G characteristic exhibits a clear negative shift under mechanical strain regardless of the tension or compression state. In addition, the C–V characteristic curves show a leftward shift with extra distortion or stretching out under mechanical strain. This indicates that InGaZnO generates additional defects under this mechanical strain, a phenomenon that can be attributed to the generation of mechanical-strain-induced oxygen vacancies on the flexible a-InGaZnO TFTs.